When you get bored in the stroller waiting for Daddy to come back with the fried cheese curds, play with your feet! But then it's so fun it's hard to stop. Even when you get to eat some cheese curds. C'mon, show up your cheese curds! Open up! Let's see 'em!

Lily also enjoyed the people-watching very much. There were a lot of whiny kids; she wasn't one of them. One little girl, whose dad stopped her stroller just behind me, kicked me with abandon until Daddy moved her out of the way. When I turned around to see who was attacking me, I saw that she was way too old to be in the stroller, and she looked at me like she knew better, she damn well knew better than to kick me, but she did it anyway. No one apologized. I should have kicked her back. But maybe that's why she was kicking in the first place--she didn't have enough room and was getting squashed into people all the time. That I could understand.

The good thing about the MN State Fairgrounds is that it's all paved. So you aren't breathing in dust all day from everyone (and that's hundreds of thousands of everyones) tromping about. That's what I don't like about some other fairgrounds, and crowded outdoor events. And it would especially suck for Lily, since she's so low to the ground in her stroller.

Here's the first thing Lily got to see: Dog Frisbee club demonstrations. She liked it. This field, right next to the Pet Center building, used to be taken up by a Twins merchandise tent, but now it's evidently being used by the Pet Center for their demos, which is a vast improvement over trying to do them inside the building, which was always totally mobbed with spectators.

Can I get a witness? Oh, that's right, Uncle Mikey witnessed it! That's him sitting on a hand. Hmm, that didn't come out right. It's an art sculpture. That sounds better. Anyhow, stopping by Thursday night, Mike visited with us a bit and we all heard Lily say "Dog," a pronounced (pardon the pun) progression from "Og." She's said it several times since then, although she still likes to say "Og" and "Gog."

Thursday, August 21, 2008

Tuesday we started with a stroller ride to the park and playing on the swings and slide, then later after second breakfast, we went to the Children's Museum. Top pic is Lily in the Habitot room, playing Peekaboo with me. It's very cool, this area is decorated like a winter scene, and then the corner is full-length windows. There's a bumper rail for kids to hang on to while they look out at the people and cars below, and a post near the corner just big enough for a toddler to walk around but not an adult. So she liked walking around that a lot, and looking out the window at the bustling world below.

The scene below the window is a main intersection in downtown St. Paul and it made me think of Richard Scarry's books, how he had Busytown and all these little animals with jobs like postman and milkman and florist and such. I can't wait 'til we can read those to her. I have several from my childhood, but she's not good with the paper pages yet--they get bent or ripped. So we'll wait a little longer and make do with board books.

The second pic down is Lily playing with another little girl in the sand area (it's more of a sculpture than a box, so I can't call it a sandbox) up on the newest part of the Museum, an outdoor artpark on the roof. The sand is so soft and squishy, I took her shoes off so she could feel it between her toes. Not like the dirty gritty stuff at the public park.

Last picture is Lily playing with a cute toy I got her that day while she was sleeping--after the Children's Museum, we went to the downtown St. Paul library and played there with some other kids and checked out more books, and when I got her back to the car she fell right asleep. So I drove over to Unique Thrift on Rice and Larpenteur. It's one of the best thrift stores in the cities, and I found a couple blouses for myself for under 5 dollars, then found several toys for Lily. This one is an elephant with wheels that actually turn (he can go roll pretty far, too) and each wheel is a rattle. So she can sit and shake it to make noise, or push it around like a car. She likes it very much and I spent 60 cents to get it. That's right, 60 cents. I am so proud. Don't worry, I cleaned it thoroughly before I gave it to her. It cleaned up very nice. I also found a Mother Goose See and Say, a Fisher Price "radio" that plays 6 songs, a little hand "vacuum" that is like the old corn popper toy but smaller and less noisy, and a spinny light thing. All these toys were under a dollar each. God, I love thrift stores, and recycling toys. I feel like I'm rescuing the Velveteen Rabbit from the trash.

Okay, I have to go to bed now, I was going to make this short because I have a headache, but I just had to share what a fun day I had with my baby girl.

Monday, August 18, 2008

Lily's first really specific word, I think, is "og." or "gog." Which means "dog." She says it whenever she points to Cocoa, or at other dogs. It's pretty cute. And she's very happy when I confirm that yes, indeed, that is an "og" she's pointing at. She says "mama" and "dada" but it's more like "mamamamamama" or "dadadadadada" and either will do in a pinch when she's, well, at a loss for words. Haha, don't hit me for that bad joke. But you know what I mean, they are just universal words right now that can be used for anything good, or anything she wants. But "og" is reserved for an actual dog.

The picture thing isn't working on Blogger tonight, otherwise I'd have a cute playground pic up. Will try tomorrow.

Today I did fine on my own with Lily until about 5pm. I got a headache on the top of my head and have felt dizzy and nauseated since then. I think it's from blood loss, because I have my period and I am just gushing blood. It didn't used to be this heavy, like before I was pregnant. Now I can barely keep up with it the first few days. I should probably talk to my doc about this...meanwhile John gave me a spinach dish for dinner, so I'd get some iron. I gotta go to bed now, just hope the dizziness stops soon because closing my eyes makes it worse, all spinny.

Sunday, August 17, 2008

She didn't even mind the bulky life jacket. I didn't go on this ride because I had a headache, so I stayed in the house and napped with an icepack over my face. I'm glad I only had one headache over the weekend, that's an improvement.

So we had a really nice, relaxing weekend at Jack and Mary's, got to visit with Mike and Sue as well, and came home happy.

This week I don't have my helper at all, so I might not get to post again until the weekend. In general, things are going well. The candida diet is really making a difference in how healthy I am. Lily had a cold after she had the croup, and then John got it, but I never got sick! So I'm pretty happy. And I was telling John last night how I feel different now about being a Mommy, after a year. I feel more confident, and when I get up in the morning I don't think "how am I going to make it through the day with this baby?" but "What fun thing can I do with Lily today?" She is so much fun right now, and it's so exciting to see her starting to walk. She tears around the house pushing her little cart, giggling and smiling, how can that not rub off on you? I thank God every day for Lily, she's so special. And mine, all mine!!! Hee hee

Lily all dressed up for church. She was very good at Mass. Then we took these pics after we got home, before we changed her clothes to pants so she could crawl around properly (it's very hard to crawl in a dress).

John takes Lily through the tile labyrinth in downtown Eau Claire near the river. Here's what I learned: The difference between a labyrinth and a maze is that a labyrinth only has one path. There are no dead ends like in a maze, you just follow it and you'll get out fine. John told us this as we were all looking at it. And I turn to Susan and say, "How do they know these things?" meaning the Mercers. They know things like that. And she knew just what I meant. "I know!" she said. It's like, where did you get that information? The History Channel? And how do you remember these details? Anyhow, Lily was more interested in the other little kids playing in the grass.

Notice how Lily's reaching for the container. If she gets it, she'll turn it upside down to get the yogurt out. Then she'll be frustrated she can't pick it up to eat with her fingers, so she'll smush it all over the high chair tray. Luckily this did not happen.

Well, I didn't get to go swimming but we had a wonderful weekend just the same. Here's Lily with Daddy in the backyard, lake in the background. The weather was wonderfully cool and even a bit cold at night, just the way I like it for sleeping.

Thursday, August 7, 2008

I just had to share, I'm so excited. I'm still on the Candida diet and I've been losing some weight. I just tried on my one-piece Speedo swimsuit size 14 that I've had for years but haven't worn in forever, and it fits! It actually looks good! I feel good in it, like I won't want to hide. So I'm hoping I'll get to go swimming this weekend. It will have to be hot and unslimy. I don't like lake swimming much because of the slime when it "blooms" (algae and other gunk). I bet Mike and Sue are having fun swimming up in the Boundary Waters this week. That's got to be the best place I've ever gone swimming, the water is crystal clear. Well, that's all, I'm just excited not to look frumpy in my swimsuit. :)

Friday afternoon we'll be going to Jack and Mary's for the weekend while Cocoa stays at her doggie hotel (Downtown Dogs). We're kind of excited to show off Lily's new skills--she can almost walk by herself and has taken a few steps on her own already. Mike and Sue will be there part of the weekend, and we're really looking forward to seeing them. They're still living in Singapore but are here for most of this month.

Lily still has a cough, but she's pretty much done with the runny nose part of her cold. That was quite illuminating, having her all congested and then watching her sneeze. Um, it's like projectile snot. A few times just hugs gobs of snot came flying out of her nose. Which is good. I know, disgusting, but it cleared out the tubes.

We went to the clinic on Tuesday and they checked to make sure she wasn't developing an ear infection or pneumonia, and she passed with flying colors. Her appetite is fine and she hasn't had a fever all week. Just the pathetic-sounding cough is left. But no more barking. Wow, that was freaky. And scary. She has been taking more naps and that's great, I'm sure it's helping her heal faster. They told us her cough would probably be worse at night and it was the first couple days. Didn't get a lot of sleep because we were up holding her to get her back to sleep and calmed down, not in that order, after she'd wake up coughing.

She's not grumpy at all about being sick, which I think she gets from her Daddy. I would be grumpy. She's still our giggly girl. We kept her in her jammies all day since the weekend, until today, and she even got to go on a walk to the park and swing in her jammies yesterday. I took her again today but with pants. We have a nice walk routine now, where we walk down to the river and then over to the park. Then Lily gets to swing for as long as she wants (if you stop too soon, she kicks her feet to let you know she wants more) while Cocoa is tied to a nearby tree. Then we go over to the creek and Cocoa gets in and cools off while Lily watches. When Lily's well I'll dip her toes in the water and walk her around in the shallow part, but not this week. Cocoa is getting used to the routine and even lying down next to the tree while she waits now. Before she was just so hyper wanting to get to the creek, jumping and whining, but now she's more mellow, I think she remembers the routine. I always make sure she has a shady spot to lie down in and that helps. Then if she starts rolling around in the grass, Lily laughs and laughs.

Sunday, August 3, 2008

We didn't have to back to the hospital, hooray. Lily slept really well overnight, and was quiet, not coughing, so that was great. Today she seemed to have more of a cold, like it's developed into that from the croup virus. She's stuffy and wheezy but still cheery and giggly, just needs longer naps. She's eating fine, too, so that's good.

What a crazy weekend. Tomorrow we have to get an appt at the Children's clinic so they can check Lily and make sure she's not developing an ear infection from this.

I need to go to bed now. Lily is sleeping peacefully and pretty quietly, and we have a humidifier running next to her crib so that should help. My poor little sweetie pie. I just want to hug her all day. But she wants to get back to playing! Silly baby.

Saturday, August 2, 2008

Friday night Lily was pretty tired after a long day of fun with Daddy--she got a walk to the park and swings in the morning, and then swimming (well, splashing in a shallow pool at Minnehaha Park) in the afternoon. Here I am that evening with my new haircut holding her. She looks pretty wiped out. She had a little bit of a cough about 7, we noticed, and then an hour later she coughed again a couple times and it sounded worse, kind of wheezy. We fed her with a bottle at 9 and put her down for the night, but at about 11 she woke us up coughing like a barking seal. That's the telltale sign of croup, I now know, and it's quite alarming to hear coming out of your child's body. It's very loud and sounds like it hurts awfully. John took her into the bathroom and turned on the hot shower to steam up the room to help her stop coughing while I called the 24-hr. nurse line at Children's Clinic and the nurse said we did the exact right thing, and to keep her in the bathroom with the shower running for another ten minutes, and then bring her in to the ER at Children's. Hospital. Well, that was kind of alarming. But we got her calmed down, which is good because everytime she coughed, it inflamed the tissue and made it harder to breathe. Poor baby. It just came on so suddenly!

The Children's Hospital was fantastic. They had me in a room with Lily before John even finished parking the car. She had to get epinephrine, or a "neb" as they called it, and that helped immediately, but not enough, so they had to do it a second time about 2 hours later. She didn't like the mask so that was kind of a challenge, because they didn't want to agitate her and make the cough worse. They were all very wonderful nurses and doctors and we felt really taken care of. The hours kind of flew by and suddenly it was 3 in the morning and they decided to admit her overnight to keep an eye on her in case she needed any more nebs. There was one rocker and one pull-out bed in the room, so John and I took shifts on the bed to get some rest while keeping an eye on her. Luckily she slept very well and they didn't have to give her any more of the nebs. The also gave her a steriod shot with the first neb, and that is going to work longer term, over the next several days, to keep the inflamation down.

She slept very well, most of the time with her hinder in the air, which is extremely cute. Then in the morning when she woke up, she took some formula and a new thing: Pedialyte, which I guess is like Gatorade for babies. Keeping her hydrated is our main goal for the next few days while she gets better, and she's doing fine with that so far. She's such a little trooper, she was happy and laughing again this morning when she felt better. John went home for a while in the early morning to take care of Cocoa while I stayed with Lily, and I just climbed right up on the crib/bed and held her while she fell asleep again. I turned on the TV to get to her sleep, and that worked pretty well as enough of a distraction to get to sleep. We watched Spongebob. I've never done that before, turned on the TV for her to watch it, but I figured this was a good time to do it.

When we brought her home John and I had both had about 2 hours of sleep overnight, so I crashed first, slept for 6 hours, and then he crashed after doing a whirlwind cleanup of the house, catching up on laundry and dishes. He's asleep now and I'm getting ready to go back to sleep but wanted to sit in Lily's room for a while (where I'm writing this) and listen to her breathing. So far in the three hours she's been asleep she only woke up once coughing and it wasn't too bad. I put the baby plug in (the pacifier) and she went back to sleep.

okay, my eyes are closing of their own accord now, so I'll take the hint and go to bed. I don't think we'll have to go back to the hospital tonight. Cross your fingers.

Thoughts and musings about being a Mommy that I just gotta write about. Comments welcome.

Lily's Current Stats 11/10

talking: in stories about her animal friends and their adventures together. A favorite word is sure, as in Would you like a cookie? Sure! Loves to make sounds with her mouth, or just talk in whispers to herself.

weighing in at:32 lbs.
height: just shy of 40 inches
eyes: hazel hair: long, brownish blond with flippity curls on the ends. I'm trying to have her grow it long and just keep the bangs trimmed. She'll let the hair stylist put a braid in after a haircut, but by the time we get in the car to go home she wants the braid out. Won't let me put any bows or clips or pins in her hair, WAH!

clothing : 3T, most colors but esp. pinks. motifs: dogs, trains, robots, animals, Cars (as in Disney movie). Note: no media images on clothing worn to school (although we do get away with it on the underwear).
shoes: size 8. Needs shoes she can take off and put on herself, as in Velcro!
favorite foods : Mac and cheese (with peas), egg salad, Pistachio nuts; most fruit, esp. apples, mango, kiwi.

skills (wanna see what I can do?) Potty trained except for overnight, putting on and taking off most of her clothes by herself, jumping from a chair into your arms, running very fast.

loves to do: puzzles (up to 100 pieces with help); cooking with Dad; reading a stack of books by herself (looking at the pictures); telling stories with Mom and Dad; going to lunch with Dad at work; going to preschool.